yeah british briton (welsh/cornish) and irish irish (irish gaelic) both feel as old as time, but being indo-european they had to have arrived there at some point from somewhere else. even if proto-celtic was some kind of pidgin or trade tongue
Blue: “I know better than to disrespect the dragon lords” credits roll. And the suggested video that pops up above the credits is Reds Trope Talk on dragons.
Spike Spiegel it’s honestly probably cause I watched the dragons trope talk on my computer so my phone thinks I haven’t seen it. But also..... it could be the dragon overlords
From Scotland, I can say that if there was anywhere within the British Isles that I would live outside of Scotland, it would by far be Wales hands down. Your country is so beautiful! 🏴 🏴
As a Welsh person, this video makes my heart sing. No sheep jokes, great attempts at pronunciation, a real respect for the people and culture. We are so used to being shat on. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
Except for the English culture. The last Englishman to tangle with a Welsh prince was Offa. The clowns that invaded you spoke Latin and French - more fool them. Ne n¯ænig pro nese weorðan
Fun fact: the author of the Witcher series used random Welsh words for magic things, so Welsh speakers were surprised to hear Yennefer mention sewers for no reason
@@shelbyvillemusica Unfortunately most people don't understand the charm and beauty with Wales. They see the harshness of England and assume we are all the same. All the Celtic regions have amazing people (Cornwall, Wales, the north, Scotland [Lowlands] and N.Ireland) Not saying all the other places but the South of England tend to be the worst yet the most covered
As my British friend would say, the one thing the Welsh; Irish and Scots all agree on: Hating the British is pretty far up the list, even if only in a friendly rivalry sense..
@@mememaster695 Geography was never thier strong suit lol. One time I mentioned being from Wales I got asked what Australia was like..... It's "New" South Wales for a reason 🤦♂️
I live in Wales and they also have Welsh speaking schools. My son is 4 and he can speak both Welsh and English fluently. The Welsh language is wales is going from strength to strength.
Welsh language schools have existed in the valleys since the 50s and STILL you can walk around my local Tesco's (Pontypridd) and the chances of hearing it are approximately, er, sorry to be so blunt ... nil. As so social experiments go It's been an epic fail. I'm fluent btw, but never speak it outside the house because nobody would understand me.
@@Jake-pm3pz really? That area has suffered a shocking decline in Welsh speakers over the last twenty years, the main problem the very low rate of transmission. The village of Crynant dropped from 46% Welsh speaking in 2001 to 25% in 2011. My mate's from Capel Hendre, moved to Cardiff to uni in 1990 and got a job here. He HATES going back home and seeing how anglicised its gone😔😔
Don't let this distract you from the fact that I am the ugliest TH-camr worldwide. I also smell like 100 de*d orangutans and have two hot hot hot girlfriends as you can see on my highly stimulating channel. Greetings, dear lerit
@@Alfred_Leonhart *clears throat* mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn amwyl i mi, gwald beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri; ei gwirol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad, tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
I got oddly...emotional watching this video. Honestly it's so nice for someone to actually talk about Wales as if it's it's own country and not just lumped in with England.
That's how it feels to remove the historical weight of colonialism, even for just an instant. Freeing, isn't it? Every people deserves to feel like this.
@@johnedington6083 I mean, my neighbor isn't my enemy either, I like him a lot but that doesn't mean It'd be a good idea to move into his appartment with him as a roommate though.
I know my grandfather was stationed over in Wales just prior to the D-Day invasion and he told me that the people there were very friendly because a lot of them are coal miners and my grandfather and a lot of his friends in his unit came from the West Virginia coal mines. Also my grandfather is Black and they felt solidarity with the Welsh people because they were often times look down upon by the English.
Having lived in that area of Wales for over half my (short) life, basically everyone who talks about how there was solidarity and understanding with the black soldiers they saw as being unfairly treated. Especially in some of the large cultural similarities
I took a trip to Northern Wales a few years back and it was absolutely amazing! Everyone there seemed pretty shocked to see a family of American tourists lol. But I had been researching Wales for years and its history just fascinates me so much. We were all also so surprised at how much Welsh we heard being spoken. I’m so glad that the language has had such a resurgence because it is such a beautiful language!
Something to remind Americans is that the history of the Welsh is in some ways very similar to that of the Native Americans, in that they were pushed westwards by invading forces.
@@mrkitcatt2119 many Welsh wrote down English when immigrating to anywhere. Discrimination and the common knowledge at that time that welshmen were only filthy pirates Black Bart, Capt Morgan, Howell Davis being some of the most famous and successful (Welsh speaking) pirates in the world. It couldn't have been easy surviving next to the most powerful country (language) in the world. The Welsh even created that themselves by winning the English crown that eventually united the British island and started the Golden age. The world would have been speaking Spanish, French maybe. It's horrible what's happened to England in the past 30 years though. English language and it's people has gone in many parts
@@mesothelimoa341 To say welsh names needs a basic grasp of welsh sometimes. Llanelli, llanfoist, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch...
@@mesothelimoa341 It's known as the, "lateral voiceless fricative." Voiceless fricatives you know how to say include, "f", "the", "s", and "sh". "ll" is kinda the converse of "sh": air flows over the sides of the tongue with the front of the tongue blocking the air flow instead of the other way around.
It's a history full of hunting and slaughter, but in recent times things look better for them. ...no, I'm not confusing Wales with whales. Though that applies to them, too.
In a "who hates England the most" competition, we Welsh are of the only three who constantly compete. Repub of Ire, Scots and the Welsh hate them more than ANYONE
@@timothymclean nah... the irish showed resisted through car bombs and bullets. The way you are supposed to. Sticking to killing the soldiers. The way that is respectful. The welsh resisted by burning down the homes of the english retirees that tried to settle down. Completely disrespectful of any rules. It shows more hatred.
@@ApeX-pj4mq partly. I was referring to the small independence war that occured after ww1, and then the casual terrorism that happened in the 70s. Ya know, not a war persay, but still an embodiment of the attitude. The sticking to killing soldier was is reference to the low number civilian deaths caused by the irish freedom fighters. Mostly just british soldiers. What is considered by the geneva convention as the respectful way of waging war. I was comparing this to the welsh method of resistance which was fire and shovels. Im not saying that every irishman hates the english. Im saying that the events that have occurred give you a general idea of the attitude. The welsh using methods that are not direct war but cause more issues.
"A red cross on white, for St. George!" "A white saltire on blue, for St. Andrew!" "A red saltire on white, for St. Patrick!" "DRAGON!!!" "Dammit Wales we said no dragons" "A rose!" "A thistle!" "A shamrock!" "LEEK!!!" "*Dammit* Wales..."
As a cornish person, whilst I feel some companionship with the Welsh I cannot help but feel like our people are overlooked generally. Often you see people talking about Wales as the most overlooked celtic nation, or just ignore us completely. I would love to see a video done on the history of the Cornish in a similar style.
I was about to comment this because I feel the exact same way- I'd love to see OSP cover Cornwall, they're amazing at these historical recaps and Cornwall often gets overlooked !!
Aye. Cornwall gets overlooked more than Wales. Probably about on par with the Manx.... and we shouldn't forget our old cousins, the Picts, whose culture was sadly wiped out centuries ago (though their use of woad still represents Celts in the public eye to this day).
Cornwealas(Cornwall) in the saxon tongue means horn of wales (the foreigner) which lets face it is at least ironic, before we even approach Dumnonia which is an amalgamation of Kernow and Dyfneint (Devon) collectively or even for that matter Avon which comes from the Welsh Afon the county of Bristol and Bath, like wise i the north west we have Cumbria which is literally a latinised version of Combrogi fellow countryman where the word Cymru originates.
Cornish is a really beautiful language. If you can speak it I hope you help it survive! I'm a native English speaker learning Welsh but I'd also like to visit Cornwall someday.
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve lost my mind when my own relatives can’t even say llandudno to the point where I just say “honestly don’t bother just call it the city of the church of St Tudno” because I just did not have it in me to teach them how to say it for the fifty eighth time
As a Welsh person my favorite Welsh history fact is that time when French soldiers surrendered to some Welsh women thinking they were the English because they wore red
Yes I think that was in 1797, last invasion of the British Isles. On reflection I forgot about the Krauts in the Channel Islands in 1940. Also a small French invasion force actually landed in Co. Mayo in support of Irish rebels in 1798 but they got their asses kicked.
I fully understand what you mean about Wales feeling ancient. Living in Wales my whole life, there's just something about it that feels like it's straight out of a fairy tale
@@alexh6767 was that on the “fast road” through culver house cross? I did my apprenticeship at an engineering fab shop in Barry, many moons ago. Beautiful journey.
Gotta admit, I’m pretty impressed with the welsh pronunciation. Not perfect but still better than I tend to expect especially with the LL In Llewelyn. Glad you actually tried to learn how to say it!
I really appreciate that you made an effort with Welsh pronunciation. You did very well! I'm always pleased when people take notice of our insanely successful language safeguarding process. At one time the language was in danger of dying out, and whilst we still have problems - particularly with massive non-welsh-speaking immigration into rural areas, the language is no longer in danger, and is getting stronger! Diolch o galon am greu'r fideo 'ma, mae mor neis clywed am ein hanes ein hunain o rywun sy ddim yn dod o Gymru!
Blue said "our first indication Wales has Big Eldritch Energy" but the never listed what other indications there are. I demand a video all about Wales' Big Eldritch Energy.
They have a ridiculous number of castles (prime haunting locations for ghosts), a language that sounds like something Cthulhu would speak and lots of mountain trails. Need more?
As a Welshman, this genuinly makes me happy. You did however forget to mention Hywel Dda's 'Welsh Laws', which is an elder and more legitimate version of Henry the 8th's laws for Wales, who has a very questionable Welsh ancestry
I'm Welsh and my bampi (grandad) was a coal miner - love this video! It's taught me so much! We don't even have our own history taught here as it's mainly based on English GCSEs but it's amazing to hear the history and learn new things!
I was in a English-language school and I didn't learn anything about Welsh history, not in Primary or Secondary school. It was so frustrating to hear about King Henry's 6 wives and how tragic their lives were, when I wanted to learn more about my own people and my own past. I didn't know the Tudors were Welsh until now. Even if we aren't in a Welsh Language school, it would have been nice to learn about the uprisings, or the castles or even some of the Goddamn folklore.
On the subject of castles: here (in wales) nearly every city and bigger town has a castle in the centre. Like you have all these highstreets and shopping centres then BAM Castle!
There's a castle from the 1200s a 5 minute walk from my house but I don't even notice it anymore, like I'm used to walking around like "Houses, cars, parks, castle, shops, you know, the usual stuff"
Have you been to Chester? English on the Welsh border and the entire city is within a Roman fort. Makes for some interesting road logistics in the city centre. Conwy, of North Wales, has a similar walled city thing going on. We're really lucky to have all this history around us!
My town has a castle in the middle not a big one not much left of it really but they built a hotel/bar/restaurant like on/into and called it well the castle hotel kinda take for granted that I can see literal castle from my house and is 2 minutes away from where I work
I’m American, but my family came here from Wales about 6 generations ago and I know nothing about wales. Finally decided to look up some history about it and always like your videos
Honestly I’ve always been disappointed that the Union Jack flag never incorporated the Welsh dragon into its design. As well as actually representing Wales on the flag as part of the UK, it would have just been baller to see. The world could always use more dragon flags.
hi! sorry to come onto your comment so late but the reason wales doesn't have representation on the union jack is because at the time of the flag's creation wales did not exist. legally it was considered part of england. hope this answers your question!
As a English Brit, I have always been disappointed at the lack of dragon too! Although I'm only now realising that I never thought about when that flag was created and if it was even possible for it to have been an influence... But childhood me still feels like any chance to have a dragon flag (without genocide or further harm, etc), is one we should take! Adult me agrees. It'd be a better flag with a dragon on it. Note: I'm saying I'd do a fascism/war crime for a dragon flag, not suggesting England didn't do plenty of genociding. I think there's only about 20-30 nations that we haven't invaded at some point in our checkered and very bloody past (... Yet?) I'm anti-empire and not trying to diminish the harm done to Wales or any other colonies.
That as well as “you sound Irish” then when you list of people like Gareth bale, AWJ, the actor like evans. Still they have no clue 😂 cmon like land of the dragon ever heard of it 😂 but as soon as you say the part of the UK isle that looks like it has a funny hat they soon understand
I used to get pissed off when Americans would ask if its near London when I said I'm from Wales. But going by the size of the US it actually is right next door to them 🤣 most of their states are bigger than the whole of the UK. I still correct them that it's a completely different country with its own history and language though
"Sire! The Welsh are revolting!" "Well then build more castles! I already retitled my son after that God forsaken country it is damn well staying conquered!"
Goddamn though we have sometimes got way too many castles. Like I get we were hard to conquer but come on the rest of the world, please stop it with the big blocky ‘we’re here to subjugate you’ monuments.
Hoo boy does Wales have a ton of castles. I once visited Wales with some friends and we got separated. What proceeded was one of the funniest phone conversations I've ever had. "Where are you?" "Near the castle?" "Which castle??" "Uh..." "This isn't an issue we have in America."
Being from Wales a buttload of castles is an understatement, feels like you're never more than a mile away from castle ruins where I am. In terms of pronunciation you made a really good job and actually aren't that far off most of them :)
@@talknight2 that's not a british isles thing, it's a "different languages that use different sounds using the same alphabet" thing. There are no two languages that use the roman alphabet the same way. The spelling of sounds - and the pronuncioation of letters - are not universal things.
"Wales has been tragically side-lined from the historical narrative of the isles. And I will not stand for it." FUCKING THANK YOU BLUE, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOREVER! I can't wait to watch the rest of this. Edit: Thank you Blue for doing this video. I never thought of dragons using the Welsh language to speak, but when I write my urban fantasy story, I'm going to absolutely make that happen now, thank you so, so much.
I recently learned how to pronounce that Welsh "double-L" sound, and have not been happier in a while, can't stop doing it and I'm going to see if I can learn anything else about Wales (or Cymry)!
Honestly o tried teaching my English friends how to say and I was like a cat Hissing and they were like yeah love we don’t know how to do that. They also said they loved my accent- and asked me how to swear
I don't mean to be rude but I genuinely don't know how people find the LL sound so hard. I think because I've done it all my life but it's genuinely like a cat hissing and I'm like ????? What do you mean you can't do a cat hiss 😂
The Welsh had longbows? That must’ve been quite the discovery for the Normans... Lord:”don’t worry, on this hill they can’t reach us with their - Whatthefuckisicomingoutofthesky?!?”
@Rhosyn Mintys If I'm remembering this right wasn't it was welsh longbowmen fighting for England that gave rise to proper military uniforms and key welsh symbol. I remember reading something about how a unit of Welsh bowmen would keep getting drunk and were a nightmare to find and organise before a battle so their leader started dressing them in green shirts with white legs. Hence the leek becoming a prominent welsh symbol. Now this may be one of those totally untrue history stories you sometimes pick up but Ive know it for so long I'm pretty sure it came from a credible source.
@Rhosyn Mintys Well I suppose even in more modern periods we haven't done a bad job giving an account of ourselves. You only have to briefly look into what happened at mametz wood in ww1 to get a feeling for how awful the entire western front was. Also if anyone hasn't been the memorial there is one of the most powerful ww1 memorials I've been to. The statue of the dragon gripping barbed wire with its head ever so slightly turned away from the treeline almost as if it cant even bare to look at where the battle was. Maybe its just because I'm welsh but I found that so moving its been seared into my memory.
@Rhosyn Mintys Gwlad "inhales" GWLAAAAAAAAAAD!!!! Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau O bydded i'r hen iaaaaaaith "inhales again" BAAAAARHAAAAU!!!
@@Fordmister Well the story i know for the leek, is that durning a battle with the saxons both sides had similar armour , so saint david told them to put a leek in their hat so they could identify allies more easily in the battlefeild, this then morphed into the green and white uniform.
@Orwell 1984 All of the LOTR is based on British history and mythology, which is a combination of Welsh and Anglo-Saxon lore, get ya facts straight, without the Welsh, the English would just be Germans, and not British (which is a Welsh word).
@@thegreenmage6956 I mean the English were influenced by more than just Germans. Remember that the Normans, Vikings and Romans all influenced the region and language. Also, it would be wrong to say that all of LOTR is based on British mythology, considering Tolkien took HEAVY inspiration from Norse mythology. The names of many of the dwarves in the Hobbit are taking straight of the Edda.
I was born in the states, but my ancestry comes from Wales, Ireland, and Germany. I’ve made it my mission to learn as much as I can and hopefully someday visit these places and experience the culture first hand 💖
Thank you for a very respectful overview, always thought this quote sums us up perfectly "To be born in Wales, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but, with music in your blood and with poetry in your soul, is a privilege indeed".Brian Harris
I need to get to this land.. i think this is explaing why i have the dragon tattoo... This story is taking twist after twist.. i have to find origin i am mirroring the Harry Potter story to the T!.. they dont want the ppl to kno im here ...yet...
'Braint yw gael dy eni'n Gymraeg, Nid â llwy arian yn dy geg, Ond â chân yn dy galon A cherdd yn dy waed.' Said to me by my mam every time I complained about being Welsh when we were living in England.
I speak Welsh. I can confirm that it sounds like some sort of ancient magic language. Our national anthem is an older version of welsh and we don’t know any direct translations. We also have a dragon flag. Suck it other countries.
Ia da i glywed ond buaswn i'n dweud fod rhan fwya o'r anthem genedlaethol yn ddealltadwy i mi. Nid yw'r Cymraeg wedi newid hanner gymaint a llawer o ieithoedd eraill. Yn yr ysgol mi wnaethom astudio barddoniaeth gan yr hen feirdd a mi oeddant yn gallu dallt yn y rhan fwyaf beth yr oeddent yn dweud. Mae'n eitha tebyg i Gymraeg y gogledd.
Agreed that Cymraeg sounds like an ancient magic language (because it is!). Just pointing out that the anthem is 100% directly translatable, all of the words from the anthem are still used in Welsh. Some of them aren't common words, but they're still there!
It is fascinating, and a huge tribute to the Welsh, that their methods of language instruction and minority-language resurgence are being used as the model for many other countries whose native minority languages have been lost, supressed, or are endangered. And, for such a small country, she has had a HUGE influence on world culture, arts, literature, and music - not to mention the fact that a disproportionately large number of extremely influential industrialists, bankers, and entrepreneurs have been Welsh or of Welsh lineage (we're looking at you J.P. Morgan and Griffith J. Griffith). The Welsh are a fascinating people who are known both for their innate sense of humility, and for their ferocious national pride. Their History is truly as brilliant, and engaging as they are, themselves. Cymru am Byth!
My man did NOT just gloss over Glyndwr as "a thwarted independence rising", you're gonna hear "Men of Harlech" outside your house tonight the Cymraeg are coming for you now, boyo
Diolch yn fawr, Blue! I am so happy that you chose to talk about Wales to today so that more people around the world will know about our history... Ps, we are still waiting on Red to do more of The Mabinogion seeing as she's already done Pywll Prince of Dyfed
Brilliant. This kind of exposure on my culture and history is long overdue, as a Welshman and first language Welsh speaker I thank you. The only bits I would add would be the betrayal of the blue books (key for the souring of the language and establishing of the welsh not) , the Merthyr rising (first socialist uprising in the uk) , and how the advent of the nhs came out of Aneurin Bevan living in a welsh coal mining community that all chipped in for healthcare. Your pronunciation isn't actually horrible for the most part either, just struggling with dd, which is impressive for a non speaker. Diolch o galon i chi blue. O gwaelod calon gwlad y gân.
I’m not a first language welsh speaker but I’m almost fluent and I agree the pronunciation was really good and I loved that we aren’t lumped in with England for a change 😂😭
And the Chartists, The Rebecca Riots, and the fact that there is an established 'little Wales' in Patagonia, that speaks the welsh language, settled by people who ran from the English second invasion in the Industrial Revolution.
Would’ve liked to hear Owain Glyndwr mentioned but apart from that, as a whistle stop tour of the last 2,000 years it was pretty good. I applaud the effort on the pronunciation too - most don’t don’t even bother, including the people we have a so-called union with. 🙄
As a latinamerican kid who didn't know much about Europe as a child, the only thing I knew of Wales was that it had a badass flag so I chose it anytime I played a football videogame with my cousins, thanks for the information about them!
I'm Welsh, it stand for having fire in your heart and mind. It's the dragons strength. Never give in, never surrender, stand strong and tall. Anyone who messes with us, we roast them into ashes. Our country men are strong of soul. It's why were known as the country of song. United we stand🔥🔥🔥🔥
There's a saying here that goes To be born Welsh is to be born privileged; not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but music in your blood and poetry in your soul.
@@Flame-rp6yq 😂 Perfect! Also, Lovecraft wrote "The shadow of innsmouth" because he found out he was partially Welsh. Like Robert found out he was part fish person. Oof.
The man behind morioh’s Slaughter myths are cool and some of them are rooted in history but there is a separate history that is very understudied and not well known or taught in wales itself. I’m probably just sensitive tho because I’m doing early medieval welsh history for my dissertation at uni.
For more details: Wales traditionally is said to have become a "Nation" with Magnus Maximus c.383 who is given a sort of founding father role in the establishment of the nation even though technically he didn't really do anything like that. The first real attempt to unite the many Kingdoms and later Principalities within Wales was by Rhodri the Great and later on it was attempted mostly by his eldest son Anarawd's successors. Rhodri had such an impact that many of the kingdoms claimed descent from him to bolster their rights to their kingdom even if Rhodri hadn't ruled it. Wales was however united as a Kingdom technically once before the conquest by England from the years 1055-1063 under Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyll who conquered all the Kingdoms within, but ultimately died by betrayal of his men and the unity shattered back into the numerous kingdoms. By the 12th century Wales was split into five kingdoms/principalities Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth, Rhwng Gwy Y Hafren also known as Fferlys and Morgannwg. But the King of Gwynedd had semi-hegemony over the others which is confirmed in the law books as well as the fact many of the kingdoms accepted the overlordship of the King of Gwynedd by this point. Another interesting fact is that the word Cymry used to apply only to the aristocratic elite of the Britons who came from North Britain and not to the families of serfs etc., but over time it was introduced as the national name. Similarly the term Britons in Welsh in the forms of Britaniaid/Brythoniaid/Brutaniaid may also have started as a kindred name if the lost myth of the conqueror named Prydain is to be believed as referenced by Guto'r Glyn in one of his poems, similarly the Irish Lebor Gabala Erenn and the Pictish Kingdoms founding myth both have Chieftains whose names are cognate with Prydain they being Britan and Cruithne all derived from the Proto-Celtic name Kwritannon. Thus if taken in reference to this "Prydain/Britan/Cruithne" that three of the surviving Celtic peoples have a myth about a person of such a name conquering the island of Britain then perhaps Britaniaid as "Britan's people" or more literally "Britan's descendants" would not be so far off. Also the whole once and future King thing wasn't just with Arthur it was applied to Cadwaladr Fendigaid ap Cadwallon King of Gwynedd, Cynan Meriadog, Hiriell a long-forgotten folk hero of Gwynedd, Owain [sometimes Owain Lawgoch, Owain Glyndwr or a yet unknown Owain] as possible identities of the figure called Y Mab Darogan or in English the Son of Destiny who was prophesied to appear when Wales' needs him the most to overthrow the English and take back the Island of Britain. Furthermore early Welsh literature where the majority of early Arthurian evidence comes from names Arthur only as a commander not as a King even though his paternal cousins are Kings see Gereint ap Erbin and March ap Meirchion. This fits in with the dragon on the flag as the Red Dragon is commonly ascribed to the aforementioned Cadwaladr whereas another dragon that of the Gold Dragon is ascribed to Uthr and his son Arthur and was raised as a standard by Owain Glyndwr during his revolt against England. Also depending on where you are the Tudors are either seen as alright or traitors to the Welsh in relation to the numerous prophecies of Y Mab Darogan etc.
'Magnus Maximus' was a Roman who mainly was notable for withdrawing the Roman legions from Britain, for continental business... and they never returned. Fictionalized as Macsen Wledig.
@@jasonlincoln7863 The Isle of Man's history is a little complicated, to say the least. They're not technically part of the UK and are mostly independent, with their own parliament and own laws. It's a really weird relationship that I still can't get my head around. I live on a Welsh island that's slightly bigger in area with a slightly lower population and it's nuts to me that the IoM has so much political freedom.
I've lived in Wales for a decade now and culturally assimilated to the point that my friends have to remind me that I in fact am "the English". Diolch yn fawr!
@@tombartram7384 I mean... in the same way that women are basically men with different bits... sure. English people aren't the 'default' people. Welsh people have their own history, language, customs, politics, sports teams, geography etc etc. Lots is shared with the English, (and more with the other Celtic nations) and lots differs too.
@@tombartram7384 Right, you took on a specific practice of the place you'd moved to that you never would have encountered in England. You assimilated too. There's no rule about it having to be painful.
@@tombartram7384 That's one way to look at it for sure. I kinda feel like that's a different effect in operation though, more like the legacy of English dominance (across the whole UK) continuing to have an effect. I don't think too many people would argue that being Welsh speaking is essential to having a culturally Welsh identity, it's just part of the tapestry.
@@tombartram7384 I know this is gunna sound really rude but it tends to be slightly different in the north, especially gwynedd where I’m from most people speak welsh and would be quite annoyed that the history in English schools is about the entire Island of Britain but they legit just learn about England. Sorry
Blue, you do not know how happy I am to see you cover Wales. We really do get forgotten frequently, being absorbed into England so early and all, but there's so much to talk about! I hope you get to visit some of our Castles and Mines someday, they really are amazing! Thank you for making this video!
I was going to say to my English ears it sounded pretty good. Though I know my pronunciation is never going to get beyond "not totally mangling place names when visiting Snowdonia".
The double L's and double D's were a triumph. Some Welsh people can't say those right. So frustrating when a Welsh person says Clanecli rather than Llanelli.
"It's existentially terrifying that a culture can, by itself, take hold of an entire population by basically willing itself into existence" No one tell Blue about Christianity, or religion in general honestly.
I'm pretty sure that Christianity taking hold of most of the world was not so much because it was "willed into existence". But moreso due to a lot of bonfires, gunpowder and sharp, pointy sticks.
The majority of religions didn't simply come into being. They were a collection of historical events, personal experiences, and cultural norms given time to becomes something unreal. More so newer religions, including Christianity, are often based off of older religions.
It's so nice to have my country recognised by someone outside of Britain and appreciate its history. We didn't mess about and stuck our ground thats for sure. I'm extremely proud to be cymraeg. Bendigedig!
As a Cornish person, there are actually lots of similiarities between Cornwall and wales. Our languages are very similar our Celtic identity is similar and our role in the empire is similar, i think in another timeline Cornwall should have been part of Wales ❤️🏴☠️ 🏴
@@Jumpoable I myself feel very Welsh living in North Wales is completely different to living in an English city a lot of people speak welsh and you know almost everyone. The towns and cities are a lot smaller aswell because it’s difficult to create big cities in such a mountainous terrain. You also get taught differently. This is my own experience Welsh people aren’t a monolith
@@elig6791 Thank you for your response. Would you say your mother tongue is Welsh or English? I suppose most cultures aren't monolithic, just a lovely mosaic.
@@Foremarkex Do you mean Crucio? It actually comes from "cruciatus," the Latin word for torture. But that's a funny coincidence. Wait... am I being whooshed?
@@ternovnik257 It's a local welsh tourism thing/whoosh. like "araf" being a small armadillo creature found in Mid Wales, or Elvis Presley being the chosen one the ancient legends refer to, or even "Popty ping" being the name for microwave oven. the "why are there no Welsh wizards in Harry Potter?" was a joke started in Newtown, Powys, after a local play featuring some dubious accents had the welsh welcome instead of the Latin. There was also an argument for some time that Quiddich was based on a local sport that worked similarly to danish long-ball, though there are multiple variant sports that also make the same claim. Other points of discussion are that the "Lost diadem of Ravenclaw" which vaguely follows the "lost diadem of Powys Castle" except that the Powys one is resolved by never having existed in the first place, a viscount bought a diadem case as a hint that perhaps they should have one, as the Earls were once the Princes of Powys, and was refused; The diadem case is on display occasionally, with a whole story about a missing/cursed diadem.
Missed a prominent part of welsh history in post-war, Aneurin Bevan was a key proponent of the founding of the NHS, our national health system. Otherwise great!
It's extremely refreshing and lovely to hear anything about Wales on the internet especially in such a positive manor. Regarding the castle they're everywhere as in I've moved like 5/6 times now and there always been a local castle or two for me to visit. For I final not it's funny to hear Wales being rushed about by someone who house by the name Blue online as that is my actual birthday name and is what's name I go by.
As a Welsh dude it’s so refreshing to hear my country talked about as a separate from England or just talked about in general Also hadn’t thought about before but Welsh does sound like what dragons would speak, especially North Welsh (it’s slightly harsher and more defined)
@Billie Piper's Teeth it literally is a country dude, we do actually have our own laws and government as well as a completely different culture, language and history
@Billie Piper's Teeth it’s literally it’s own country my guy. Also a lot of people in Wales do want to be separate from England, we didn’t even want to be part of Britain in the first place. And England doesn’t actually make decisions for Wales because the Welsh government can reject those laws and not apply them here and the ‘English’ government is the British government. We’re a group of counties, the United Kingdoms, it’s kind of our whole thing Also Hawaii should be it’s own country because it didn’t even want to be a state and was pretty much taken over by the Americans
Can we all appreciate how Blue (very clearly not welsh) at least tried to pronounce welsh words correctly, it's nice to see a non-native attempt it, most people just pronounce them like English words so it was refreshing to hear him use the correct sound for "dd" for example
ah yes, the country that produced a village of the name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and has a freaking DRAGON on its flag is also the country most forget about. such is history.
By the way, Llanfairpwll is essentially made up as an advertising thing. He also forgot about Maggie Thatcher but he didn't miss much. Maybe some more about Owain Glyndwr but on the whole pretty accurate for a macro scale video.
A sad aspect of being a post colonial nation is inheriting this inferiority complex. I know it's something that's quite common in Wales, especially within the Welsh speaking communities. We've had the short end of the stick for quite a long time. Even today, our modern history is swept aside, we aren't taught it in schools. Some even choose to reject the Welsh language and our unique culture. But, despite all of the hardships we've faced over the last eight hundred years, we've always been. Thanks, from the bottom for my heart for creating an informative video that doesn't throw Wales, nor its culture under the bus.
Times do change. I did my O levels in the 80's and we were the only school in the area that did Welsh as an option. Very few did, it just wasn't popular and you were seen as a spanner if you did. I understand now that Welsh is being taught in more schools and is a popular subject, theres more of a sense of pride about speaking Welsh. That's a good thing.
Oh you poor thing. Contrast what you have 'suffered' with what the English have contended with. The English were all but wiped off the face of the planet by the Normans. For 300 years the official language in England was French. We had to reinvent ourselves numerous times. When we finally got rid of the Normans we were left speaking this dog of a language and provided you guys with your own Welsh translation well before we had our own standardised text. It's very easy to blame oppression for your failures.
"Get it out of your system." "It's actually called the "meme model"." "Not those bards." This is a man who understands his audience, and is preemptively done with their metaphorical shit.
For any don’t speak welsh - look up a beautiful welsh word “Hiraeth”. It’s a perfect testament to the welsh language - Cymraeg. Cymru am byth 🏴❤️
Well done! A good informative video. Missed a couple of key things however: Wales was a unified country with one king for only 7 years from 1057-1063, just before the Normans arrived in Britain, and the 16th century Laws of Wales Acts were very heavily discriminatory against Welsh speakers and Welsh culture. The only representation in parliament for Wales were mostly descendants of Norman earls in the Marches, rather than from the more Welsh-speaking "Pura Wallia" areas in the north and west. This was changed in the mid-1800s due to the increased industrialisation you spoke about. Really great video tho. And excellent pronunciation!
![กี่หมื่นฟ้า | Your Sky Series EP.1 [2/4]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qJbQs_nhjD4/mqdefault.jpg)
On Wales feeling older:
"Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful." - J. R. R. Tolkien.
🏴
Seriously Tolkien said that?!
yeah british briton (welsh/cornish) and irish irish (irish gaelic) both feel as old as time, but being indo-european they had to have arrived there at some point from somewhere else. even if proto-celtic was some kind of pidgin or trade tongue
@@DragonKnight90001 He didn’t just say it he based Sindarin on it.
@@blacksage2375 oh ok XD
Blue: “I know better than to disrespect the dragon lords” credits roll. And the suggested video that pops up above the credits is Reds Trope Talk on dragons.
Blue is no fool!
The dragon lords want us to learn more. I’m not complaining
I got History RE-Summarised: The Roman Republic.
Spike Spiegel it’s honestly probably cause I watched the dragons trope talk on my computer so my phone thinks I haven’t seen it. But also..... it could be the dragon overlords
Meanwhile in Australia:
Dragons have feelings too people! WE CANNOT FORGET THE DRAGONS!
As a welsh teenager this makes me smile, wales is a beautiful country with alot of history as well as a semi-large mythos.
From Scotland, I can say that if there was anywhere within the British Isles that I would live outside of Scotland, it would by far be Wales hands down. Your country is so beautiful! 🏴 🏴
If you only you didn’t speak goblinoid
N many find themselves back to the old ways! As I, an Irish Celt, have found my way back to my old gods.
Wales needs more attention.
@@TheParadoxGamer1 I found my way back to the old gods of the isles back in late 2015 😄
@Germany can into Empire Same to you!! 🏴🏴
"Welsh is of this soil, this island, the senior language of the men of Britain; and Welsh is beautiful." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Wales Englands biggest county 😂😂😂
Falch i fod yn gymraeg 🤘
And Cornish ❤️🏴
@@Dungiom me when Brythonic languages 💚
@@elliwowen5121 a fina 'fyd
As a Welsh person, this video makes my heart sing. No sheep jokes, great attempts at pronunciation, a real respect for the people and culture. We are so used to being shat on. Diolch yn fawr iawn!
Except for the English culture.
The last Englishman to tangle with a Welsh prince was Offa.
The clowns that invaded you spoke Latin and French - more fool them.
Ne n¯ænig pro nese weorðan
@@AndyJarman no the last Englishman to tangle with a Welsh Prince was Joe Marler.
@@darthmong7196 this comment needs more appreciation! Haha
ymdrech gadarn iawn ganddo, chwarae teg.
@@osmdude101 Mae gennym ein draig ein hunain yma yn Lloegr, does dim angen diolch mwy!
“And I know better than to disrespect the dragon lords.”
This man gets it.
HEAR HEAR
he does indeed, doesn't he?
Your god damn right
Right!
Wales is so badass they got a RED DRAGON on there flag! How many places have a dragon on there flag!
Fun fact: the author of the Witcher series used random Welsh words for magic things, so Welsh speakers were surprised to hear Yennefer mention sewers for no reason
Stares back while holding several volumes of the Pendragon Cycle
Okay, this may be the biggest motivation I've had to learn Welsh from all my years living there.
No no, not magic things but the Elder Tongue, the language of the Elves, the whole theme of the elves is fantasy celtic after all.
Lots of fantasy does this. A huge part of Sarah J Maas predictions used to be entering character names into the Welsh to English on Google translate
The name Geralt is also a common Welsh name, normally spelled Gerallt.
i’m a welsh gal, and it’s so good to see wales finally being talked about in an educational manner without being made fun of for once!
CORRECT. 👍👍👍🏴🏴🏴
Why do you say that wales is being made fun? Its way more nice, far more intresting that anything england could offer.
@@shelbyvillemusica Unfortunately most people don't understand the charm and beauty with Wales. They see the harshness of England and assume we are all the same. All the Celtic regions have amazing people (Cornwall, Wales, the north, Scotland [Lowlands] and N.Ireland) Not saying all the other places but the South of England tend to be the worst yet the most covered
As my British friend would say, the one thing the Welsh; Irish and Scots all agree on: Hating the British is pretty far up the list, even if only in a friendly rivalry sense..
🐑
i love seeing this as a welsh person also it is entirely possible to stumble off the edge of a hiking trail and end up in narnia ive done it
I missed my turn, though I found a power station instead of Narnia.
If you go the wrong way you end up in Port Talbot though.
I'll end up falling into the otherworld
Ending up in Narnia or Middle Earth is taking a RIGHT turn. Taking a wrong turn is ending up in Westeros.
Was it fun?
Oh no he's found out we exist, Damn I kinda liked being the stealth nation 😂😂
God same. Lmao
Lol
Every time I tell an American I'm from Wales they ask if it's near london. I think we're still the stealth nation.
@@mememaster695 I mean considering the relative size of the US, Wales technically IS fairly close to London
@@mememaster695
Geography was never thier strong suit lol. One time I mentioned being from Wales I got asked what Australia was like..... It's "New" South Wales for a reason 🤦♂️
"Welsh sounds like the language dragons would speak" - never thought about that, but actually true.
Using Welsh for my dragons in my d&d campaign from now on
Welsh themselves often claim that welsh is the language of heaven.
Coming from a Cymro I agree
Dwi'n cytuno! Dyna'r union ddreigiau iaith sy'n siarad. Ynganiad ardderchog hefyd
Fun to be able to have it as a second language but it’s no longer a third of us now I believe
I live in Wales and they also have Welsh speaking schools. My son is 4 and he can speak both Welsh and English fluently. The Welsh language is wales is going from strength to strength.
Welsh language schools have existed in the valleys since the 50s and STILL you can walk around my local Tesco's (Pontypridd) and the chances of hearing it are approximately, er, sorry to be so blunt ... nil.
As so social experiments go It's been an epic fail.
I'm fluent btw, but never speak it outside the house because nobody would understand me.
No it ain't
Welsh language schools you will find a lot in North Wales but mostly in Gwynedd, as I say the Welsh capital of Wales
@@tombartram7384 Go to the western point of the valleys like the Amman valley and the upper Swansea valley and you will hear people speaking Welsh.
@@Jake-pm3pz really? That area has suffered a shocking decline in Welsh speakers over the last twenty years, the main problem the very low rate of transmission. The village of Crynant dropped from 46% Welsh speaking in 2001 to 25% in 2011. My mate's from Capel Hendre, moved to Cardiff to uni in 1990 and got a job here. He HATES going back home and seeing how anglicised its gone😔😔
2:15
England: "WHY CAN'T YOU BE NORMAL!?"
Wales: *Eldritch Screeching*
Don't let this distract you from the fact that I am the ugliest TH-camr worldwide. I also smell like 100 de*d orangutans and have two hot hot hot girlfriends as you can see on my highly stimulating channel. Greetings, dear lerit
To be honest it’s kind of what the welsh language sounds like
Kind of what it looks like too
@@Alfred_Leonhart as a welsh person I can confirm
@@Alfred_Leonhart *clears throat* mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn amwyl i mi, gwald beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri; ei gwirol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mad, tros ryddid collasant eu gwaed.
I got oddly...emotional watching this video. Honestly it's so nice for someone to actually talk about Wales as if it's it's own country and not just lumped in with England.
Yma o hyd!
Now you know how alphabet people feel
That's how it feels to remove the historical weight of colonialism, even for just an instant.
Freeing, isn't it? Every people deserves to feel like this.
@@johnedington6083 I mean, my neighbor isn't my enemy either, I like him a lot but that doesn't mean It'd be a good idea to move into his appartment with him as a roommate though.
Yeah…. Half the world feels the same thing
I know my grandfather was stationed over in Wales just prior to the D-Day invasion and he told me that the people there were very friendly because a lot of them are coal miners and my grandfather and a lot of his friends in his unit came from the West Virginia coal mines. Also my grandfather is Black and they felt solidarity with the Welsh people because they were often times look down upon by the English.
I always love that sorta solidarity
@@alyssinclair8598 Yeah, being put down by people makes the ones put down find some form of friendship and content sympathy.
Getting screwed by the English is a universal bonding experience
@@Goblinoiddoof Or they put the others down. Like the Irish did when they came to the US.
Having lived in that area of Wales for over half my (short) life, basically everyone who talks about how there was solidarity and understanding with the black soldiers they saw as being unfairly treated. Especially in some of the large cultural similarities
I took a trip to Northern Wales a few years back and it was absolutely amazing! Everyone there seemed pretty shocked to see a family of American tourists lol. But I had been researching Wales for years and its history just fascinates me so much. We were all also so surprised at how much Welsh we heard being spoken. I’m so glad that the language has had such a resurgence because it is such a beautiful language!
Which specific places did you go?
Something to remind Americans is that the history of the Welsh is in some ways very similar to that of the Native Americans, in that they were pushed westwards by invading forces.
George Washington monument has "Wales forever" on it. And 4of the first 5 Presidents were of Welsh decent.
@@Maharan169 yes but not their main ancestral line as the vast majority of the founding fathers considered themselves englishmen
@@mrkitcatt2119 many Welsh wrote down English when immigrating to anywhere. Discrimination and the common knowledge at that time that welshmen were only filthy pirates Black Bart, Capt Morgan, Howell Davis being some of the most famous and successful (Welsh speaking) pirates in the world. It couldn't have been easy surviving next to the most powerful country (language) in the world. The Welsh even created that themselves by winning the English crown that eventually united the British island and started the Golden age. The world would have been speaking Spanish, French maybe. It's horrible what's happened to England in the past 30 years though. English language and it's people has gone in many parts
Ay Welsh the forgotten ones that everybody knows but no one talks about
The language with too many silent "L's"
@@jessicajayes8326 They aren't silent. Ll makes a specific sound which is hard to convey in text. As does dd.
@@mesothelimoa341 To say welsh names needs a basic grasp of welsh sometimes. Llanelli, llanfoist, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch...
@@mesothelimoa341 It's known as the, "lateral voiceless fricative." Voiceless fricatives you know how to say include, "f", "the", "s", and "sh". "ll" is kinda the converse of "sh": air flows over the sides of the tongue with the front of the tongue blocking the air flow instead of the other way around.
It's a history full of hunting and slaughter, but in recent times things look better for them.
...no, I'm not confusing Wales with whales. Though that applies to them, too.
In a "who hates England the most" competition, we Welsh are of the only three who constantly compete. Repub of Ire, Scots and the Welsh hate them more than ANYONE
@@Goblinoiddoof Just judging by their names, I'd guess that Ire-land probably comes out ahead.
@@timothymclean nah... the irish showed resisted through car bombs and bullets. The way you are supposed to. Sticking to killing the soldiers. The way that is respectful. The welsh resisted by burning down the homes of the english retirees that tried to settle down. Completely disrespectful of any rules. It shows more hatred.
@@sethbennett617 I sure hope the "car bombs and bullets", as well as "Sticking to killing the soldiers" comment was sarcastic
@@ApeX-pj4mq partly. I was referring to the small independence war that occured after ww1, and then the casual terrorism that happened in the 70s. Ya know, not a war persay, but still an embodiment of the attitude. The sticking to killing soldier was is reference to the low number civilian deaths caused by the irish freedom fighters. Mostly just british soldiers. What is considered by the geneva convention as the respectful way of waging war. I was comparing this to the welsh method of resistance which was fire and shovels. Im not saying that every irishman hates the english. Im saying that the events that have occurred give you a general idea of the attitude. The welsh using methods that are not direct war but cause more issues.
"A red cross on white, for St. George!"
"A white saltire on blue, for St. Andrew!"
"A red saltire on white, for St. Patrick!"
"DRAGON!!!"
"Dammit Wales we said no dragons"
"A rose!"
"A thistle!"
"A shamrock!"
"LEEK!!!"
"*Dammit* Wales..."
Wales flower is the daffodil
The red dragon is the country's flag... St. David's flag is a yellow cross on a black background
@@welch_inc6532 only recently while the leek is up to 1000 years old.
I'd been wondering what these UK symbols meant. This result is a little disappointing though.
And a leek
As a cornish person, whilst I feel some companionship with the Welsh I cannot help but feel like our people are overlooked generally. Often you see people talking about Wales as the most overlooked celtic nation, or just ignore us completely. I would love to see a video done on the history of the Cornish in a similar style.
I was about to comment this because I feel the exact same way- I'd love to see OSP cover Cornwall, they're amazing at these historical recaps and Cornwall often gets overlooked !!
Aye. Cornwall gets overlooked more than Wales. Probably about on par with the Manx.... and we shouldn't forget our old cousins, the Picts, whose culture was sadly wiped out centuries ago (though their use of woad still represents Celts in the public eye to this day).
Cornwealas(Cornwall) in the saxon tongue means horn of wales (the foreigner) which lets face it is at least ironic, before we even approach Dumnonia which is an amalgamation of Kernow and Dyfneint (Devon) collectively or even for that matter Avon which comes from the Welsh Afon the county of Bristol and Bath, like wise i the north west we have Cumbria which is literally a latinised version of Combrogi fellow countryman where the word Cymru originates.
Came down in the comments to echo this sentiment! Cornish and Manx history is utterly unknown outside of Celtic nationalists, and history nerds.
Cornish is a really beautiful language. If you can speak it I hope you help it survive! I'm a native English speaker learning Welsh but I'd also like to visit Cornwall someday.
Love the fact you actually put effort into pronouncing the welsh words right when 90% of British media don’t bother
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve lost my mind when my own relatives can’t even say llandudno to the point where I just say “honestly don’t bother just call it the city of the church of St Tudno” because I just did not have it in me to teach them how to say it for the fifty eighth time
When I try to pronounce something I try to get it as close to their dialect as I can. I may not be perfect but I'll try.
He is from the melting pot of the world the united states of america.(that is a fancy way of saying that he is american)
The worst thing is when you hear the pronounciation of Llanelli whilst on a train or on a GPS. It annoys me everytime.
I try to. I hate that Welsh people hear me talk and because of the bloody fools in England are...well...bloody fools, they think I'm a bloody fool.
As a Welsh person my favorite Welsh history fact is that time when French soldiers surrendered to some Welsh women thinking they were the English because they wore red
Yes I think that was in 1797, last invasion of the British Isles. On reflection I forgot about the Krauts in the Channel Islands in 1940. Also a small French invasion force actually landed in Co. Mayo in support of Irish rebels in 1798 but they got their asses kicked.
Hello My darling daughter :) Imagine finding you here.
A bunch of elderly Welsh women, might I add.
@@ardentjunglist thats a strange way to approach women but I wont judge.
@@glitchyjoe64 My actual daughter...
Am Welsh, can confirm that we are run by dragons.
Seriously though having my country not lumped in with England for once is amazing.
Its so rare..*holds head*
I couldn’t agree more. 😁
We've been waiting so long and we've finally got the recognition lads. Dan ni 'di ennill.
Come to think of it... Drakeford... Drake... Dragon... 😨
First Minister with the surname Drakeford. Pretty suspicious.
I fully understand what you mean about Wales feeling ancient. Living in Wales my whole life, there's just something about it that feels like it's straight out of a fairy tale
The description he gave, first thing that came to mind was Fairy tale 😉
Have only been to the touristy parts then
The same thing that the romans thought, they saw the isles as such a strange place compared to the rest of Europe.
i was going to like your comment but when things end in two i cry, so horarary like.
I cry when I leave(49 yrs old)
“Wales drew the shortest of the imperial sticks.”
**Cries in Cornish and Manx**
Never even heard of Manx.
You'll have your time to shine soon ☀️
Joins in with sad Cornish (Kernewek) sounds
Quick! Everyone demand a Cornish history and Isle of man history!
:( same
I live in Llandaff in cardiff, there are two castles at the end of my street. Opposite three pubs.
What more could a man want ?😂
probably to not live in cardiff
I live in cardiff too and when I took buses for college back in the day I passed so many fields to get into barry
@@alexh6767 was that on the “fast road” through culver house cross? I did my apprenticeship at an engineering fab shop in Barry, many moons ago. Beautiful journey.
😂 each to their own
A brothel
Gotta admit, I’m pretty impressed with the welsh pronunciation. Not perfect but still better than I tend to expect especially with the LL In Llewelyn. Glad you actually tried to learn how to say it!
The way he was saying powys kinda had me tbh 😂
I know right, I was impressed too.
Most English can't get close, nice to hear from an American (im assuming).
I really appreciate that you made an effort with Welsh pronunciation. You did very well! I'm always pleased when people take notice of our insanely successful language safeguarding process. At one time the language was in danger of dying out, and whilst we still have problems - particularly with massive non-welsh-speaking immigration into rural areas, the language is no longer in danger, and is getting stronger! Diolch o galon am greu'r fideo 'ma, mae mor neis clywed am ein hanes ein hunain o rywun sy ddim yn dod o Gymru!
Went to Wales last year and it was probably the most enchanting time of my life
Blue said "our first indication Wales has Big Eldritch Energy" but the never listed what other indications there are. I demand a video all about Wales' Big Eldritch Energy.
They have a ridiculous number of castles (prime haunting locations for ghosts), a language that sounds like something Cthulhu would speak and lots of mountain trails. Need more?
@@calebwheeler8143 maybe not, but I want it
just type 'mari lwyd' into google images
@@calebwheeler8143 yes I do need more and I need a video of Blue narrating it all to me with Red's animations.
Look at a few welsh mythology. There are some creepy things in there.
As a Welshman, this genuinly makes me happy. You did however forget to mention Hywel Dda's 'Welsh Laws', which is an elder and more legitimate version of Henry the 8th's laws for Wales, who has a very questionable Welsh ancestry
I'm Welsh and my bampi (grandad) was a coal miner - love this video! It's taught me so much! We don't even have our own history taught here as it's mainly based on English GCSEs but it's amazing to hear the history and learn new things!
As a Welsh gal, I can confirm that you are correct: never disrespect the dragon lords.
As someone from just beyond the big pond to your west. I like the idea of dragons ruling along side Wales.
@@squiblebib1353 tbf modern day Wales is still basically Skyrim
Fuck dem dragons
@@galning2768 That’s not a very crescent-fresh attitude, boyo.
We're just out here riding sheep carts and chilling with our pet dragons
I’m welsh and my school did not teach this. madness that our government mutes the Welsh history, I’m so mad at our education system
Yeah in my experience only Welsh medium schools focussed on Welsh history
Unfortunately, England is still the unholy overlord?
I was in a English-language school and I didn't learn anything about Welsh history, not in Primary or Secondary school. It was so frustrating to hear about King Henry's 6 wives and how tragic their lives were, when I wanted to learn more about my own people and my own past. I didn't know the Tudors were Welsh until now. Even if we aren't in a Welsh Language school, it would have been nice to learn about the uprisings, or the castles or even some of the Goddamn folklore.
@Samuel Rhys nice idea but the Welsh economy relies so much on subsidy from the rest of the UK. It would not be able to survive on its own
How old r u? All welsh education does now is gloss over the rest of the world
On the subject of castles: here (in wales) nearly every city and bigger town has a castle in the centre. Like you have all these highstreets and shopping centres then BAM Castle!
There's a castle from the 1200s a 5 minute walk from my house but I don't even notice it anymore, like I'm used to walking around like "Houses, cars, parks, castle, shops, you know, the usual stuff"
Have you been to Chester? English on the Welsh border and the entire city is within a Roman fort. Makes for some interesting road logistics in the city centre. Conwy, of North Wales, has a similar walled city thing going on. We're really lucky to have all this history around us!
My town has a castle in the middle not a big one not much left of it really but they built a hotel/bar/restaurant like on/into and called it well the castle hotel kinda take for granted that I can see literal castle from my house and is 2 minutes away from where I work
@@jakegriffiths2362 Caerphilly?
@@higgsyboi1237 brecon (love how it could be more than 1 place xD)
I’m American, but my family came here from Wales about 6 generations ago and I know nothing about wales. Finally decided to look up some history about it and always like your videos
It's Blue! Heck Yeah!
New Favorite Quote: "I know better than disrespect the dragon lords."
You must be careful when you speak of the Dragon Lords!
Honestly I’ve always been disappointed that the Union Jack flag never incorporated the Welsh dragon into its design. As well as actually representing Wales on the flag as part of the UK, it would have just been baller to see. The world could always use more dragon flags.
hi! sorry to come onto your comment so late but the reason wales doesn't have representation on the union jack is because at the time of the flag's creation wales did not exist. legally it was considered part of england. hope this answers your question!
As a English Brit, I have always been disappointed at the lack of dragon too!
Although I'm only now realising that I never thought about when that flag was created and if it was even possible for it to have been an influence... But childhood me still feels like any chance to have a dragon flag (without genocide or further harm, etc), is one we should take! Adult me agrees. It'd be a better flag with a dragon on it.
Note: I'm saying I'd do a fascism/war crime for a dragon flag, not suggesting England didn't do plenty of genociding. I think there's only about 20-30 nations that we haven't invaded at some point in our checkered and very bloody past (... Yet?) I'm anti-empire and not trying to diminish the harm done to Wales or any other colonies.
@@unholyimpacts7246 Wales existed long before England
Like my profile pic you mean
Speaking as a Welshman, plenty of us are very happy not to have our dragon incorporated into that bloodstained rag.
THE AMOUNT OF TIMES THAT OVE TOLD SOMEONE IM FROM WALES AND THEY’VE SAID “oh is that in England” IS INFURIATING THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO
“JuSt A sMaLl ToWn In EnGlAnD” I hate those people
That as well as “you sound Irish” then when you list of people like Gareth bale, AWJ, the actor like evans. Still they have no clue 😂 cmon like land of the dragon ever heard of it 😂 but as soon as you say the part of the UK isle that looks like it has a funny hat they soon understand
Most likely Americans, a lot of them think that Britain or the "UK" is all one country
@@spongemaster most ignorant people I have ever met
I used to get pissed off when Americans would ask if its near London when I said I'm from Wales. But going by the size of the US it actually is right next door to them 🤣 most of their states are bigger than the whole of the UK. I still correct them that it's a completely different country with its own history and language though
CYMRU AM BYTH
Vegans in Wales represent 🌱 🏴🙋🏻♀️
Wales is beautiful. I have lived there and it is the land.of my father.
@@colettedavies1741 god is your father and he blessed England with the empire 😉
"Sire! The Welsh are revolting!"
"Well then build more castles! I already retitled my son after that God forsaken country it is damn well staying conquered!"
Goddamn though we have sometimes got way too many castles. Like I get we were hard to conquer but come on the rest of the world, please stop it with the big blocky ‘we’re here to subjugate you’ monuments.
@@taekinuru2 The Welsh did build a few of them too, but it is a reminder of that.
Honestly, this is an answer I can expect from that old pal of Edward Longshanks.
You would expect them to catch on after the first few hundred.
@Chris George what do you mean? He wasn't exactly a peaceful and quiet man.
Hoo boy does Wales have a ton of castles. I once visited Wales with some friends and we got separated. What proceeded was one of the funniest phone conversations I've ever had.
"Where are you?"
"Near the castle?"
"Which castle??"
"Uh..."
"This isn't an issue we have in America."
This made me laugh my head off. In Wales saying "I'm near a castle" is the equivalent of saying "I'm somewhere in Wales"
What do they use all the castles for nowadays? Are they all museums?
@@theperfectmix2 I think some are museums, but I'm assuming that most are just... there, possibly under cultural protection laws
@@theperfectmix2 a lot of them were basically museums. They decorate the castles to look as they did during certain time periods
@@theperfectmix2 Most are some form of a museum - nothing fancy, you can just go inside and take a look at the building.
“How could anyone gloss over the country with the dragon flag?”
*sad Bhutan noises*
Being from Wales a buttload of castles is an understatement, feels like you're never more than a mile away from castle ruins where I am. In terms of pronunciation you made a really good job and actually aren't that far off most of them :)
I’ve been waiting for the entire history of Wales for this video.
Comedy
So have i bruh
Round of applause to blue for saying the “Ll” correctly
/ɬ/ moment
It's like all the languages of the British Isles are competing with each other to have the worst spelling conventions.
This is why English class is hell
@@talknight2 that's not a british isles thing, it's a "different languages that use different sounds using the same alphabet" thing. There are no two languages that use the roman alphabet the same way. The spelling of sounds - and the pronuncioation of letters - are not universal things.
@@annakilifa331 Unfortunately
"Wales has been tragically side-lined from the historical narrative of the isles. And I will not stand for it." FUCKING THANK YOU BLUE, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOREVER! I can't wait to watch the rest of this.
Edit: Thank you Blue for doing this video. I never thought of dragons using the Welsh language to speak, but when I write my urban fantasy story, I'm going to absolutely make that happen now, thank you so, so much.
I vote for that urban fantasy idea!
@@kouusa Replying so I can get updates on that story - I'm actually writing something similar right now!
I recently learned how to pronounce that Welsh "double-L" sound, and have not been happier in a while, can't stop doing it and I'm going to see if I can learn anything else about Wales (or Cymry)!
Its Cymry if you’re talking about the welsh people, however if you are talking about the country itself it is Cymru
Honestly o tried teaching my English friends how to say and I was like a cat Hissing and they were like yeah love we don’t know how to do that. They also said they loved my accent- and asked me how to swear
Try the forensic historians Wilson and blackett and get your mind blown wide open
@@elig6791 what? Teach me both please. I wanna know Welsh. Languages are awesome
I don't mean to be rude but I genuinely don't know how people find the LL sound so hard. I think because I've done it all my life but it's genuinely like a cat hissing and I'm like ????? What do you mean you can't do a cat hiss 😂
The Welsh had longbows? That must’ve been quite the discovery for the Normans...
Lord:”don’t worry, on this hill they can’t reach us with their - Whatthefuckisicomingoutofthesky?!?”
@Rhosyn Mintys If I'm remembering this right wasn't it was welsh longbowmen fighting for England that gave rise to proper military uniforms and key welsh symbol. I remember reading something about how a unit of Welsh bowmen would keep getting drunk and were a nightmare to find and organise before a battle so their leader started dressing them in green shirts with white legs. Hence the leek becoming a prominent welsh symbol. Now this may be one of those totally untrue history stories you sometimes pick up but Ive know it for so long I'm pretty sure it came from a credible source.
@Rhosyn Mintys Well I suppose even in more modern periods we haven't done a bad job giving an account of ourselves. You only have to briefly look into what happened at mametz wood in ww1 to get a feeling for how awful the entire western front was. Also if anyone hasn't been the memorial there is one of the most powerful ww1 memorials I've been to. The statue of the dragon gripping barbed wire with its head ever so slightly turned away from the treeline almost as if it cant even bare to look at where the battle was. Maybe its just because I'm welsh but I found that so moving its been seared into my memory.
@Rhosyn Mintys Gwlad "inhales" GWLAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!
Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad,
Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau
O bydded i'r hen iaaaaaaith "inhales again" BAAAAARHAAAAU!!!
The Normans also had archers, though I don't know what kind of bows they used. William used archers in the Battle of Hastings.
@@Fordmister Well the story i know for the leek, is that durning a battle with the saxons both sides had similar armour , so saint david told them to put a leek in their hat so they could identify allies more easily in the battlefeild, this then morphed into the green and white uniform.
J.R.R Tolkien himself used the welsh language for the elves in lord of the rings. Proud to be welsh lol
I am English and and I am proud as well we are the Brittonic peoples and should be there for each other
@Orwell 1984 men are the Anglo-Saxon kings whereas the elves are based off the Welsh. The Dwarves are Scandinavian and so on.
@Orwell 1984 All of the LOTR is based on British history and mythology, which is a combination of Welsh and Anglo-Saxon lore, get ya facts straight, without the Welsh, the English would just be Germans, and not British (which is a Welsh word).
@@thegreenmage6956 I mean the English were influenced by more than just Germans. Remember that the Normans, Vikings and Romans all influenced the region and language. Also, it would be wrong to say that all of LOTR is based on British mythology, considering Tolkien took HEAVY inspiration from Norse mythology. The names of many of the dwarves in the Hobbit are taking straight of the Edda.
@@mca1881 Elder Scrolls Skyrim too
I heard Wales and arrived for the dragon on the flag.
Same!
But what about leeks?
@@jenniferschmitzer299 now try daffodils ;)
@@emilyharries1923 bara brith? Welshcakes? No just me ok
I was born in the states, but my ancestry comes from Wales, Ireland, and Germany. I’ve made it my mission to learn as much as I can and hopefully someday visit these places and experience the culture first hand 💖
Means a lot. Falle dysgu’r iaith?
@@GruntDestroyarChannel Dwi’n moyn myw o bobl dysgu cymraeg hefyd. Dwi dal yn dysgu yr iaith fy hun.
Same here. Born in the states, my ancestors, Jones’, immigrated from Wales.
@@tinfoilbottle5943 Sais dw i, ond dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg. Mae'n iaith didderol a hyfryd.
Thank you for a very respectful overview, always thought this quote sums us up perfectly "To be born in Wales, not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but, with music in your blood and with poetry in your soul, is a privilege indeed".Brian Harris
I need to get to this land.. i think this is explaing why i have the dragon tattoo... This story is taking twist after twist.. i have to find origin i am mirroring the Harry Potter story to the T!.. they dont want the ppl to kno im here ...yet...
'Braint yw gael dy eni'n Gymraeg,
Nid â llwy arian yn dy geg,
Ond â chân yn dy galon
A cherdd yn dy waed.'
Said to me by my mam every time I complained about being Welsh when we were living in England.
May I say as a Welsh person myself sometimes that is true Pob lwc i bwy bynnag sy'n mynd i Gymru achos mae'n bwrw glaw llawer
I speak Welsh. I can confirm that it sounds like some sort of ancient magic language. Our national anthem is an older version of welsh and we don’t know any direct translations. We also have a dragon flag.
Suck it other countries.
@That nonbinary bee Neis gweld mwy o siaradwyr Cymraeg ar y wê!
Ia da i glywed ond buaswn i'n dweud fod rhan fwya o'r anthem genedlaethol yn ddealltadwy i mi.
Nid yw'r Cymraeg wedi newid hanner gymaint a llawer o ieithoedd eraill.
Yn yr ysgol mi wnaethom astudio barddoniaeth gan yr hen feirdd a mi oeddant yn gallu dallt yn y rhan fwyaf beth yr oeddent yn dweud.
Mae'n eitha tebyg i Gymraeg y gogledd.
Agreed that Cymraeg sounds like an ancient magic language (because it is!). Just pointing out that the anthem is 100% directly translatable, all of the words from the anthem are still used in Welsh. Some of them aren't common words, but they're still there!
@@jace8603 Oh. I didn’t realise. This is just something I was told a few years ago in my primary school. Should’ve known it was a bunch of shite.
can anyone teach welsh language online?
As someone with Welsh heritage, I'm so happy to see this video.
As a welsh person I myself am ever happier!!!
Tf u mean Welsh heratage, shit screams Yankee
Me as well!
Hear hear!
Me as well. Good to see that Blue pronunciation is better than Reds. Red's pronunciation of 'Pwyll' still makes me cringe.
It is fascinating, and a huge tribute to the Welsh, that their methods of language instruction and minority-language resurgence are being used as the model for many other countries whose native minority languages have been lost, supressed, or are endangered. And, for such a small country, she has had a HUGE influence on world culture, arts, literature, and music - not to mention the fact that a disproportionately large number of extremely influential industrialists, bankers, and entrepreneurs have been Welsh or of Welsh lineage (we're looking at you J.P. Morgan and Griffith J. Griffith). The Welsh are a fascinating people who are known both for their innate sense of humility, and for their ferocious national pride. Their History is truly as brilliant, and engaging as they are, themselves. Cymru am Byth!
My man did NOT just gloss over Glyndwr as "a thwarted independence rising", you're gonna hear "Men of Harlech" outside your house tonight the Cymraeg are coming for you now, boyo
*coming for you now, bach
I once spent a week's holiday staying in Harlech. Been on many holidays in Wales actually.
Dynion Harlech indeed, cymru am byth !
@@PiousMoltar I hope everyone welcomed you with open arms! Don’t forget to come visit down south if you haven’t already!
I actually had to stop the video and take a moment at that point
Shortest stick was drawn by Wales
Cornwall: *sad Kernewek noises
Uh oh the fish people are making noises again
Balls theDog big eldritch energy
Isle of Man: Nobody notices us... nobody...
cornish represent!
Nobody can hear them, they're too far down a mineshaft.
"You can wander off a hiking trail and stumble into Narnia" Well, into Annwfn at the very least.
Caer Dalben?
As a welsh teenager, this makes me smile, thanks so much for making our country feel noticed.
"And England learned about Welsh Longbows the hard way."
England looks at France
*Soon.*
Ah, the "Welsh bowmen" of Braveheart fame that were summoned by Longshanks in the midst of negotiations with William Wallace?
@@tenhirankei I was thinking more of the battles of Crecy and Agincourt during the hundred years war, but that works too 👍
@Joe Public "What a revoltin' development!"
Crug Mawr 1136, Where the Welsh taught the English how to skewer heavily armoured Frenchmen at 600 yards.
IIRC, in Age of Empire II, the Longbowman was the Britons' Unique Unit, and the Woad Warrior was the Celts'.
Diolch yn fawr, Blue! I am so happy that you chose to talk about Wales to today so that more people around the world will know about our history... Ps, we are still waiting on Red to do more of The Mabinogion seeing as she's already done Pywll Prince of Dyfed
I don't want more of The Mabinogion. The pronunciation was too painful!
true but she tried! I've heard worse tbf
I mean Gelert would probably be better for pronunciation
Blue's pronunciation of Welsh princes was good this video maybe he could help red!
I love how I’ve lived in wales all my life ,but hardly understand Welsh.
Brilliant. This kind of exposure on my culture and history is long overdue, as a Welshman and first language Welsh speaker I thank you.
The only bits I would add would be the betrayal of the blue books (key for the souring of the language and establishing of the welsh not) , the Merthyr rising (first socialist uprising in the uk) , and how the advent of the nhs came out of Aneurin Bevan living in a welsh coal mining community that all chipped in for healthcare.
Your pronunciation isn't actually horrible for the most part either, just struggling with dd, which is impressive for a non speaker.
Diolch o galon i chi blue. O gwaelod calon gwlad y gân.
hell yea
I’m not a first language welsh speaker but I’m almost fluent and I agree the pronunciation was really good and I loved that we aren’t lumped in with England for a change 😂😭
First use of a red (pig's blood) flag, the Rebecka, sic, riots?
Nice one, diolch!
And the Chartists, The Rebecca Riots, and the fact that there is an established 'little Wales' in Patagonia, that speaks the welsh language, settled by people who ran from the English second invasion in the Industrial Revolution.
Would’ve liked to hear Owain Glyndwr mentioned but apart from that, as a whistle stop tour of the last 2,000 years it was pretty good. I applaud the effort on the pronunciation too - most don’t don’t even bother, including the people we have a so-called union with. 🙄
Shoot, they're on to us boys!! They know we welsh exist!
Quick hide the dragons ffs
Frick 🏴🏴🏴
They know we are dragon lords quick let’s hide the evidence
I was actually very surprised he knew so much about Wales and actually pronounced everything right and respected the culture
@@LeaD2000 the only welsh word I know is the name of that town with that shitlong name, does that count as respecting their culture?
As a latinamerican kid who didn't know much about Europe as a child, the only thing I knew of Wales was that it had a badass flag so I chose it anytime I played a football videogame with my cousins, thanks for the information about them!
I'm Welsh, it stand for having fire in your heart and mind. It's the dragons strength. Never give in, never surrender, stand strong and tall. Anyone who messes with us, we roast them into ashes. Our country men are strong of soul. It's why were known as the country of song. United we stand🔥🔥🔥🔥
There's a saying here that goes
To be born Welsh is to be born privileged;
not with a silver spoon in your mouth,
but music in your blood and poetry in your soul.
Yeah I fucking love our flag 😂
@@Sam-zu5mr It's nothing to do with that...it's that dragons still live in caves in the Welsh mountains
Wales: has big eldritch energy.
H.P. Lovecraft has entered the chat, and he is inexplicably scared.
So default Lovecraft?
Lovecraft: wait, your telling me there's a country Americans have barely heard of before? WHAT MIGHT IT BE CAPABLE OF!
@@drowknight7521 Exactly!
@@Flame-rp6yq 😂 Perfect!
Also, Lovecraft wrote "The shadow of innsmouth" because he found out he was partially Welsh. Like Robert found out he was part fish person.
Oof.
OK that's a good one
This is genuinely lovely - thank you from a Welsh woman watching some Welsh-related to get pumped up for the rugby. Diolch yn fawr.
“OSP good, watch OSP and you win life.”
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight!
@@jessicajayes8326 Archimedes! No! Its filthy in zere!
no words were ever truer
No, that's Confucio
@@scottish-hero6664 How did you know I was a Medic main?
Wales, the land where the line between fantasy and history is blurred.
Cringe
Bag of Beans exactly, I’m the same. Bit condescending. We have history it isn’t just romantic myths.
@@joebowden4065 what about the red dragon vs white dragon? I am also welsh and I think it’s pretty cool
The man behind morioh’s Slaughter myths are cool and some of them are rooted in history but there is a separate history that is very understudied and not well known or taught in wales itself. I’m probably just sensitive tho because I’m doing early medieval welsh history for my dissertation at uni.
True. A lot of our traditions; the druidic ones are based on academic fan fictions. But we don't care as it's wholesome nationalism.
The last time I was this early, Wales was still being sidelined
Edit: wow, thanks for the likes
Still is
...okay, that's fair. More sidelined than it is now.
Wholesome
Give it a minute, we've apparently got some people who want to put us back on the sideline in our own assembly.....
@@hannahh8157 I hate being sidelined
My wife is Welsh, the language is beautiful and the people are so friendly! Cymru am Byth!
You obviously haven’t been to Ceredigion!!!!!
@@THEBOYDALEK friendly if they know you
@@chesterdonnelly1212 What the hell is that supposed to mean?. If they don’t know you they are unfriendly?
For more details: Wales traditionally is said to have become a "Nation" with Magnus Maximus c.383 who is given a sort of founding father role in the establishment of the nation even though technically he didn't really do anything like that.
The first real attempt to unite the many Kingdoms and later Principalities within Wales was by Rhodri the Great and later on it was attempted mostly by his eldest son Anarawd's successors. Rhodri had such an impact that many of the kingdoms claimed descent from him to bolster their rights to their kingdom even if Rhodri hadn't ruled it.
Wales was however united as a Kingdom technically once before the conquest by England from the years 1055-1063 under Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyll who conquered all the Kingdoms within, but ultimately died by betrayal of his men and the unity shattered back into the numerous kingdoms.
By the 12th century Wales was split into five kingdoms/principalities Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth, Rhwng Gwy Y Hafren also known as Fferlys and Morgannwg. But the King of Gwynedd had semi-hegemony over the others which is confirmed in the law books as well as the fact many of the kingdoms accepted the overlordship of the King of Gwynedd by this point.
Another interesting fact is that the word Cymry used to apply only to the aristocratic elite of the Britons who came from North Britain and not to the families of serfs etc., but over time it was introduced as the national name. Similarly the term Britons in Welsh in the forms of Britaniaid/Brythoniaid/Brutaniaid may also have started as a kindred name if the lost myth of the conqueror named Prydain is to be believed as referenced by Guto'r Glyn in one of his poems, similarly the Irish Lebor Gabala Erenn and the Pictish Kingdoms founding myth both have Chieftains whose names are cognate with Prydain they being Britan and Cruithne all derived from the Proto-Celtic name Kwritannon. Thus if taken in reference to this "Prydain/Britan/Cruithne" that three of the surviving Celtic peoples have a myth about a person of such a name conquering the island of Britain then perhaps Britaniaid as "Britan's people" or more literally "Britan's descendants" would not be so far off.
Also the whole once and future King thing wasn't just with Arthur it was applied to Cadwaladr Fendigaid ap Cadwallon King of Gwynedd, Cynan Meriadog, Hiriell a long-forgotten folk hero of Gwynedd, Owain [sometimes Owain Lawgoch, Owain Glyndwr or a yet unknown Owain] as possible identities of the figure called Y Mab Darogan or in English the Son of Destiny who was prophesied to appear when Wales' needs him the most to overthrow the English and take back the Island of Britain. Furthermore early Welsh literature where the majority of early Arthurian evidence comes from names Arthur only as a commander not as a King even though his paternal cousins are Kings see Gereint ap Erbin and March ap Meirchion.
This fits in with the dragon on the flag as the Red Dragon is commonly ascribed to the aforementioned Cadwaladr whereas another dragon that of the Gold Dragon is ascribed to Uthr and his son Arthur and was raised as a standard by Owain Glyndwr during his revolt against England.
Also depending on where you are the Tudors are either seen as alright or traitors to the Welsh in relation to the numerous prophecies of Y Mab Darogan etc.
'Magnus Maximus' was a Roman who mainly was notable for withdrawing the Roman legions from Britain, for continental business... and they never returned. Fictionalized as Macsen Wledig.
That would explain why there's so many ap Rhodri's in the welsh side of my family tree Lol
Actually I recognize most of those other names aswell.
“The shortest stick of the bunch was drawn by wales”
*Sad Cornish noises*
Very true :/
*cough cough Isle of Man cough cough*
@@jasonlincoln7863 The Isle of Man's history is a little complicated, to say the least. They're not technically part of the UK and are mostly independent, with their own parliament and own laws. It's a really weird relationship that I still can't get my head around. I live on a Welsh island that's slightly bigger in area with a slightly lower population and it's nuts to me that the IoM has so much political freedom.
Cumbrians: *literally dead
@@daviddavies3637 Ynys môn? Haha.
As a Welsh man this video makes me happy. We have the single most impressive world flag out there
I thought that until the other day, look at Bhutan’s, they’ve got a pretty sick dragon flag too
I'm a Welsh girl, I couldn't stop smiling at this. Thank you :D And yes, our castles, poetry, landscapes and dragons are awesome.
Not forgetting your singing and your rugby.
PS the dragons let you ride them.
I've lived in Wales for a decade now and culturally assimilated to the point that my friends have to remind me that I in fact am "the English". Diolch yn fawr!
Culturally? Most Welsh people are basically English with a different postcode.
@@tombartram7384 I mean... in the same way that women are basically men with different bits... sure. English people aren't the 'default' people. Welsh people have their own history, language, customs, politics, sports teams, geography etc etc. Lots is shared with the English, (and more with the other Celtic nations) and lots differs too.
@@tombartram7384 Right, you took on a specific practice of the place you'd moved to that you never would have encountered in England. You assimilated too. There's no rule about it having to be painful.
@@tombartram7384 That's one way to look at it for sure. I kinda feel like that's a different effect in operation though, more like the legacy of English dominance (across the whole UK) continuing to have an effect. I don't think too many people would argue that being Welsh speaking is essential to having a culturally Welsh identity, it's just part of the tapestry.
@@tombartram7384 I know this is gunna sound really rude but it tends to be slightly different in the north, especially gwynedd where I’m from most people speak welsh and would be quite annoyed that the history in English schools is about the entire Island of Britain but they legit just learn about England. Sorry
The fact that you've put the effort in to record and edit this makes my Welsh heart proud.
Thank you for giving our history attention.
Blue, you do not know how happy I am to see you cover Wales. We really do get forgotten frequently, being absorbed into England so early and all, but there's so much to talk about! I hope you get to visit some of our Castles and Mines someday, they really are amazing! Thank you for making this video!
Thank you for respectfully talking about my peoples history, its refreshing :)
Diolch, Glas. Also, pronunciation: *chefs’ kiss*.
I was going to say to my English ears it sounded pretty good. Though I know my pronunciation is never going to get beyond "not totally mangling place names when visiting Snowdonia".
The double L's and double D's were a triumph. Some Welsh people can't say those right. So frustrating when a Welsh person says Clanecli rather than Llanelli.
"It's existentially terrifying that a culture can, by itself, take hold of an entire population by basically willing itself into existence"
No one tell Blue about Christianity, or religion in general honestly.
Memes are terrifying creatures.
I'm pretty sure that Christianity taking hold of most of the world was not so much because it was "willed into existence". But moreso due to a lot of bonfires, gunpowder and sharp, pointy sticks.
or wave after wave after wave of missionaries and modernization.
The majority of religions didn't simply come into being. They were a collection of historical events, personal experiences, and cultural norms given time to becomes something unreal. More so newer religions, including Christianity, are often based off of older religions.
As someone with Welsh heritage, this does put a smile on my face.
Same
i just like guts
It's so nice to have my country recognised by someone outside of Britain and appreciate its history. We didn't mess about and stuck our ground thats for sure. I'm extremely proud to be cymraeg. Bendigedig!
As a Cornish person, there are actually lots of similiarities between Cornwall and wales. Our languages are very similar our Celtic identity is similar and our role in the empire is similar, i think in another timeline Cornwall should have been part of Wales ❤️🏴☠️ 🏴
You guys are a little far away ngl
The language is similar because modern Cornish is based of Welsh 🥰
Do you guys feel bicultural, like both Cornish & British/ English? Or very distinctly different...?
Genuinely wondering.
@@Jumpoable I myself feel very Welsh living in North Wales is completely different to living in an English city a lot of people speak welsh and you know almost everyone. The towns and cities are a lot smaller aswell because it’s difficult to create big cities in such a mountainous terrain. You also get taught differently. This is my own experience Welsh people aren’t a monolith
@@elig6791 Thank you for your response. Would you say your mother tongue is Welsh or English? I suppose most cultures aren't monolithic, just a lovely mosaic.
I demand to have “big eldritch energy” on the merch store
I'm disappointed that he missed JK Rowling's inclusion of the welsh greeting, Croseo, as a spell to cause incredible pain to wizards.
@@Foremarkex Do you mean Crucio? It actually comes from "cruciatus," the Latin word for torture. But that's a funny coincidence.
Wait... am I being whooshed?
@@ternovnik257 It's a local welsh tourism thing/whoosh. like "araf" being a small armadillo creature found in Mid Wales, or Elvis Presley being the chosen one the ancient legends refer to, or even "Popty ping" being the name for microwave oven.
the "why are there no Welsh wizards in Harry Potter?" was a joke started in Newtown, Powys, after a local play featuring some dubious accents had the welsh welcome instead of the Latin.
There was also an argument for some time that Quiddich was based on a local sport that worked similarly to danish long-ball, though there are multiple variant sports that also make the same claim.
Other points of discussion are that the "Lost diadem of Ravenclaw" which vaguely follows the "lost diadem of Powys Castle" except that the Powys one is resolved by never having existed in the first place, a viscount bought a diadem case as a hint that perhaps they should have one, as the Earls were once the Princes of Powys, and was refused; The diadem case is on display occasionally, with a whole story about a missing/cursed diadem.
@@Foremarkex That's really interesting, I need to do more research on that! Thanks!
Missed a prominent part of welsh history in post-war, Aneurin Bevan was a key proponent of the founding of the NHS, our national health system. Otherwise great!
There's thousands of things he didn't mention that you could choose. Why that one specifically?
It's extremely refreshing and lovely to hear anything about Wales on the internet especially in such a positive manor. Regarding the castle they're everywhere as in I've moved like 5/6 times now and there always been a local castle or two for me to visit. For I final not it's funny to hear Wales being rushed about by someone who house by the name Blue online as that is my actual birthday name and is what's name I go by.
As a Welsh dude it’s so refreshing to hear my country talked about as a separate from England or just talked about in general
Also hadn’t thought about before but Welsh does sound like what dragons would speak, especially North Welsh (it’s slightly harsher and more defined)
You all sound like norman prices mother off fireman sam.
We don’t sound that bad 😂 oh god it’s stuck in my head now 🤦🏻♂️
@Billie Piper's Teeth it literally is a country dude, we do actually have our own laws and government as well as a completely different culture, language and history
@Billie Piper's Teeth it’s literally it’s own country my guy. Also a lot of people in Wales do want to be separate from England, we didn’t even want to be part of Britain in the first place. And England doesn’t actually make decisions for Wales because the Welsh government can reject those laws and not apply them here and the ‘English’ government is the British government. We’re a group of counties, the United Kingdoms, it’s kind of our whole thing
Also Hawaii should be it’s own country because it didn’t even want to be a state and was pretty much taken over by the Americans
Can we all appreciate how Blue (very clearly not welsh) at least tried to pronounce welsh words correctly, it's nice to see a non-native attempt it, most people just pronounce them like English words so it was refreshing to hear him use the correct sound for "dd" for example
ah yes, the country that produced a village of the name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch and has a freaking DRAGON on its flag is also the country most forget about. such is history.
By the way, Llanfairpwll is essentially made up as an advertising thing. He also forgot about Maggie Thatcher but he didn't miss much. Maybe some more about Owain Glyndwr but on the whole pretty accurate for a macro scale video.
It's not that hard to pronounce. You just have to break it down.
Taron Eggertons home
@@ZephLodwick exactly it's finding the rhythm points inherent in Welsh (so separating the words/word pairs)
In Finland, there's a village named Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä.
I'm not from the UK, but I have always been fascinated by Wales because of this one beautiful book I've read.
Oh? What book?
@@laurenhurley1920 I see, I should've known! Lol
“wales drew the shortest straw” cornwall will never accept this
Shut up and stop declaring independence, you're made of about 100 people and some sheep (jk, love I cornwall)
@@Thorkell_the_short yknow what? i’m gonna declare independence twice as hard now
@@meatworld4776 goddamnit, where will I get my pasties now?!
@@Thorkell_the_short imported pasties best pasties
kernew can into wales
As a Welshman, I'd like to thank you for this positive history lesson 🤘 🏴
Cymru Am Byth !
A sad aspect of being a post colonial nation is inheriting this inferiority complex. I know it's something that's quite common in Wales, especially within the Welsh speaking communities. We've had the short end of the stick for quite a long time. Even today, our modern history is swept aside, we aren't taught it in schools. Some even choose to reject the Welsh language and our unique culture.
But, despite all of the hardships we've faced over the last eight hundred years, we've always been.
Thanks, from the bottom for my heart for creating an informative video that doesn't throw Wales, nor its culture under the bus.
Times do change.
I did my O levels in the 80's and we were the only school in the area that did Welsh as an option.
Very few did, it just wasn't popular and you were seen as a spanner if you did.
I understand now that Welsh is being taught in more schools and is a popular subject, theres more of a sense of pride about speaking Welsh.
That's a good thing.
Oh you poor thing.
Contrast what you have 'suffered' with what the English have contended with.
The English were all but wiped off the face of the planet by the Normans.
For 300 years the official language in England was French.
We had to reinvent ourselves numerous times.
When we finally got rid of the Normans we were left speaking this dog of a language and provided you guys with your own Welsh translation well before we had our own standardised text.
It's very easy to blame oppression for your failures.
@@AndyJarman cool story
As an irish boy I agree 👍🏻 never let your culture or language die. Our day will come!
Independence is coming! 🏴
I'm Irish and I will always be biased for my own country but I gotta love our friends across the sea, love ya wales
The irish used to raid wales
We love ya also Irish folk! I'm a Welsh Gal with an Irish Grandfather.. Best of both xx
I'm Welsh and Irish lol
"Get it out of your system." "It's actually called the "meme model"." "Not those bards."
This is a man who understands his audience, and is preemptively done with their metaphorical shit.
For any don’t speak welsh - look up a beautiful welsh word “Hiraeth”. It’s a perfect testament to the welsh language - Cymraeg.
Cymru am byth 🏴❤️
Just did. I feel hiraeth for the '90s.
Cytuno. Un o'r geiriau 'na chi jyst ffili disgrifio yn Saesneg. Engraifft arall yw cwtch
Im welsh and I don't know why but I'm shite at welsh
The dragon flag may seem cool but you haven't tried to draw it in primary school
Oof I can imagine that. I’m Irish so we have an easy flag. 🇮🇪
Tis a struggle
I'm actually glad, now I can look back and see how funny my drawings were
I tried once, never again
The dragon drawing competition for st David’s day was a blast
Well done! A good informative video. Missed a couple of key things however: Wales was a unified country with one king for only 7 years from 1057-1063, just before the Normans arrived in Britain, and the 16th century Laws of Wales Acts were very heavily discriminatory against Welsh speakers and Welsh culture. The only representation in parliament for Wales were mostly descendants of Norman earls in the Marches, rather than from the more Welsh-speaking "Pura Wallia" areas in the north and west. This was changed in the mid-1800s due to the increased industrialisation you spoke about.
Really great video tho. And excellent pronunciation!